Option 2: $1.1 million to rebuild nine courts, resurface the other courts, refurbish lights and purchase new windscreens. Phasing: two years.

Option 3: $1.8 million to completely rebuild the tennis center with 25 hard courts. Four of those courts would be outlined for those under 8 years old. Phasing: three years.

Source: Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department

By Amy B WangThe Republic | azcentral.comMon Nov 12, 2012 10:57 PM

Facing public pressure, Phoenix Parks and Recreation officials say they are looking at ways to revive the 43-year-old Phoenix Tennis Center, once unquestionably one of the city’s gems.

An overhaul of the center to restore it to championship-level status could cost nearly $2million, an amount supporters say would be justified because it would allow the center to compete with newer, shinier tennis facilities in the Valley.

“We’re very keen on the idea that major tournaments are good for the overall city, good for the Valley, good for that network,” acting parks Director Jim Burke said. “But it’s also good economics.”

When it opened in 1969 and through the ensuing decade, the Phoenix Tennis Center — a cluster of 22 courts tucked away in a residential neighborhood near 21st Avenue and Bethany Home Road — was a renowned destination for the likes of Billie Jean King.

Today, many say the center has fallen into such disrepair that the greats who once played there would no longer recognize it.

Those who still frequent the courts report a long list of grievances: regular vehicle break-ins in the parking lot; the smell of cigarette (and other) smoke wafting near Court 21 after sunset; and 40-year-old corrugated windscreens dotted with holes or missing altogether — the victim of strong winds.

Worst, they say, are the cracks. On Court 4, a footlong, seahorse-shaped chip in the concrete reveals a network of larger fissures. On Court 7, a similar crater lies smack in front of the net, ready to deflect a ball or, worse, cause a player to trip and fall.

“The tennis center was essentially a showcase place for years,” said David Filani, president of the local Match Point Tennis Club. “People refer to this now as ‘the hood.’”

The last straw came in September, when the United States Tennis Association pulled its 2012 Winter National Championships for junior players ages 16 and 18. It would have been the tournament’s 13th year at the center.

“Part of my sanction that I get from (the USTA) for hosting this tournament is that I will provide (venues) that are in a safe and playable condition,” said tournament Director Sally Grabham. “It has reached the point at the Phoenix Tennis Center that the courts just are not of that caliber.”

Grabham moved the tournament to other centers in the Valley, taking with it an estimated 400 to 450 hotel-night bookings the event usually brings.

“The unfortunate thing is I have years with working with hotels and restaurants in Phoenix,” she said. “It’s a lost revenue.”

Fed up, Filani and dozens of others petitioned city officials in September to urge them to take a close look at the center, which they say the city has neglected for at least a decade.

“The lack of maintenance, repair and upgrade of the Phoenix Tennis Center by (the Parks and Recreation Department) is nothing short of baffling,” wrote Hallie Smith, spokeswoman for a newly formed committee to improve the center.

Matt Peck, who runs the center’s concessions, said he has done what he can to maintain the courts and grounds without a budget from the city.

Peck temporarily replaced some of the windscreens with free hand-me-down tarps he got from Arizona State University.

He regularly accommodates requests from players who seek to avoid being booked on the worst courts.

Sally Bruso, 70, lives about a mile and a half from the tennis center and has played there multiple times a week for more than 30 years. Bruso remembers the facility in its glory days.

She said it’s almost painful to watch visitors — especially college scouts and coaches who have come for previous juniors tournaments — see the center in its current condition.

“It’s embarrassing to hear the parents talk,” Bruso said. “(They say,) ‘It’s too bad the city of Phoenix let this fall into disrepair.’”

However, Bruso credits the city for its response. Last week, parks officials presented three options for revitalizing the center to about 50 tennis-center advocates.

The solutions ranged from providing $600,000 for resurfacing the current courts to $1.8million for a complete three-year overhaul and 25 new courts.

The last option would put the center on par with newer facilities like Indian School Park in Scottsdale and Surprise Tennis & Racquet Center, which have both attracted national tournaments in recent years.

“We want to first of all apologize,” Deputy City Manager Jerome Miller told the group. “We probably even at the city should have done a better job. ... We’re going to make sure we take care of that.”

The public commitment is the first step on a long road to any changes.

Work on the center would likely have to wait until July so the city can apply for grants, look for funding sources and factor costs into its next fiscal-year budget. Ultimately, the City Council needs to approve any changes.

The initial estimates include only capital expenditures, not upkeep — though Miller assured the crowd the city would include a maintenance plan.

“If we spend over a million dollars to redo the courts, we’re going to have a maintenance plan,” he said. “We are very resolute to make changes.”

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